Car manufacturer BMW Group has joined car carrier operator UECC and the GoodShipping program to test marine bio fuel oil on UECC’s roro car carriers.
BMW has joined in a previous announced trial, where biofuel is being tested on UECC’s 2,080 ceu car carrier Autosky.
The car carrier was bunkered with biofuel in the Port of Rotterdam in March and will receive further refueling until July. The vessel is currently testing the fuel on route between Zeebrugge, Belgium and Santander, Spain.
BMW, which has production sites worldwide, believes the participation in the trial is a meaningful and immediate means to reduce the CO2 footprint of the group’s transport logistics processes.
“At UECC, we want to support our customers and enable them to make proactive, conscious choices about their cargo transportation. BMW Group’s participation to continue our trial on our ro-ro vessel M/V Autoskyshould therefore signal to the automotive sector that the means to decarbonise are readily available and that our vessels are equipped to meet this most important of challenges for the shipping industry,” said Daniel Gent, energy and sustainability manager at UECC.
“We are delighted to have BMW Group join us for continuing this pioneering trial of marine biofuel within the ro-ro segment. Transportation logistics have a huge carbon impact, so the leadership shown by BMW Group to proactively take steps to decarbonise – and recognise that solutions are available – should act as a call for others in the sector to join us on this journey,” said Anniek Sluis, growth captain of The GoodShipping Program.
UECC, a joint venture between NYK and Wallenius Lines, currently operates a fleet of 20 roro ships and transports around 1.5m cars, 30,00 heavy units and 300,000 tonnes of breakbulk cargo annually. The company also operates several vehicle terminals and breakbulk terminals in major European ports
